Published: March 18, 2026 at 8:54 pm
Wild card Om Semwal saved five match balls on his way to a thrilling round-one win over Sebastian Salazar at the JSW Indian Open 2026 in Mumbai on Wednesday, securing his first victory in a World events match in the process.
The JSW Indian Open 2026 burst into action with high drama on Day 1, as a series of closely fought encounters headlined an action-packed opening day at the CCI in Mumbai.
The 22-year-old Mumbai resident had the home crowd on his side and made an impressively strong start against a player ranked 114 places above him, winning the first two games in 20 minutes.
Indian stars Anahat & Ramit eye home success as JSW Indian Open gets underway in Mumbai
But Salazar turned the tide to send the match into a decider by winning the next two games and looked to have almost completed the turnaround when he brought up three match balls at 10-7 up in the fifth.
Semwal battles his heart out
What followed, though, was a dramatic 15 minutes of breathtaking action, beginning with Semwal saving those three match balls despite being on the back foot in parts of all three rallies, leaving everything out on court as he battled to keep his tournament alive.
Equally as impressive as his effort levels was his willingness to go short and be aggressive, with a high backhand drop a particular highlight, landing inches above the tin when the match was on the line.
The drama showed no signs of letting up as the players went toe-to-toe into a tension-filled tiebreak, which featured dives, refereeing decisions and big celebrations.
Salazar had further match balls at 12-11 and 15-14, with World No.223 Semwal having opportunities of his own at 11-10, 13-12, 14-13 and 17-16, all four of which came and went.
But the home favorite would finally get over the line at the fifth time of asking when a Salazar backhand found the tin at 18-17, though the reaction from Semwal was more of relief – and perhaps exhaustion – than anything else.
Semwal’s win was one of two for Indian players on day one in Mumbai, with Tanvi Khanna battling past Germany’s Maya Weisher in four games in the women’s draw, where she will join top seed Anahat Singh and fifth seed Joshna Chinappa in round two.
Another competitive fixture saw Switzerland’s Ambre Allinckx overcome Netherlands’ Tessa ter Sluis 3-1, while Egypt’s Ibrahim Elkabbani registered a solid 3-1 win against India’s Suraj Kumar Chand in a well-contested battle.
Hong Kong’s Chi Him Wong cruised past Ayaan Vaziralli 3-0 in the opening round of the JSW Indian Open at the CCI in Mumbai on Wednesday
The rest of the day saw a series of dominant performances from top contenders. Hong Kong’s Chi Him Wong cruised past Ayaan Vaziralli 3-0, while Sofia Mateos secured convincing straight game-win over Shameena Riaz. Matthew Lai and Danielle Ray were equally clinical, both registering comfortable 3-0 victories in their respective matches to kick off their campaigns in style
Elisa knocks out Risa
Elise Romba knocked out Risa Sugimoto 3-0 in the only seedings upset on the women’s side, while Yassin Shohdy came through a tough test against France’s Manual Pacquemar in the men’s draw.
The young Egyptian is ranked more than 100 places above his French opponent, but found himself a game down, and then 10-8 down in the second.
But saving those two game balls would prove to be decisive for Shohdy, as he closed out the tiebreak 13-11 and ran away with things from there, wrapping up games three and four 11-5, 11-7, to set up a second-round clash with Dewald van Niekerk.
The excitement continues to build as Day 2 promises another thrilling line-up, with Indian stars Veer Chotrani, Joshna Chinappa, Anahat Singh, Abhay Singh and Ramit Tandon set to begin their campaigns, much to the anticipation of the home crowd.
Results (Round I): Women’s singles: Breanne Flynn (IRL) beat Lea Barbeau (FRA) 3-0 (11-4, 11-2, 14-12), Ambre Allinckx (SUI) beat Tessa ter Sluis (NED) 3-1 (9-11, 11-6, 11-5, 11-6), Sofía Mateos (ESP) beat Shameena Riaz (IND) 3-0 (11-2, 11-8, 11-4), Elise Romba (FRA) beat Risa Sugimoto (JPN) 3-0 (11-7, 11-2, 11-8), Danielle Ray (CAN) beat Rathika Suthanthira Seelan (IND) 3-0 (11-8, 11-3, 11-5), Tanvi Khanna (IND) beat Maya Weishar (GER) 3-1 (15-13, 12-10, 7-11, 11-4), Farida Walid (EGY) beat Nirupama Dubey (IND) 3-0 (11-7, 11-3, 11-4), Sehveetrraa Kumar (MAS) beat Unnati Tripathi (IND) 3-0 (11-8, 11-5, 11-4).
Men’s singles: Chi Him Wong (HKG) beat Ayaan Vaziralli (IND) 3-0 (11-4, 11-6, 11-3), Yannik Omlor (GER) beat Yash Fadte (IND) 3-0 (13-11, 11-9, 12-10), Ibrahim Elkabbani (EGY) beat Suraj Kumar Chand (IND) 3-1 (12-14, 11-4, 11-1, 11-6), Om Semwal (IND) beat Sebastian Salazar (MEX) 3-2 (11-6, 11-9, 8-11, 10-12, 19-17), Matthew Lai (HKG) beat Mohammad Syafiq Kamal (MAS) 3-0 (11-5, 11-9, 11-8), Yassin Shohdy (EGY) beat Manuel Paquemar (FRA) 3-1 (10-12, 13-11, 11-5, 11-7), Duncan Lee (MAS) beat Ravindu Laksiri (SRI) 3-1 (9-11, 11-1, 11-5, 11-5), Ameeshenraj Chandaran (MAS) beat Naoki Hayashi (JPN) 3-1 (8-11, 13-11, 11-4, 11-9).
